Giannoukos v. Virginia Board of Medicine and Department of Health Professions

DATA BANK REPORT

Giannoukos v. Virginia Board of
Medicine and Department of Health Professions, No. 0457-04-2 (Va. App. January
11, 2005)

The Virginia Board of Medicine and a physician entered
into a consent order that found the physician did not provide, in response
to four letters, a professional profile describing her qualifications and practice,
and the physician received a $250 fine. The board of medicine wrote a letter
and informed the physician that the order had to be reported to the Healthcare
Integrity and Protection Data Bank, which serves as a national data bank for
the reporting of final adverse actions against physicians, among others. The
physician filed suit in circuit court to prevent the report, and the court
dismissed the suit, holding that the letter from the board of medicine was
not a "case decision" and
thus it did not have any authority in the matter. The physician appealed.

The appeals court agreed with the circuit court that
the letter was not a "case
decision" since such a decision would represent a determination that a
physician is or may be in violation of laws or regulations, or out of compliance
with some requirements. A determination that addresses only the duty to report
does not qualify as a case decision, and the dismissal of the circuit court
was affirmed.